Jim Lee Set to Retire Canadian Jim Lee, IAFF Chief of Staff, is set to retire in the coming months, having served in that role for the past several years. He was previously the principal assistant to the General Secretary-Treasurer and ran for that position before bowing out at the prospect of Tidal Wave Edzo. […]

Diane Cotter Leads From Without Most IAFF members are under the impression that their union is a fierce and vigorous protector of their safety and health. Have a seat, we have some bad news. Harold Schaitberger’s IAFF long ago gave up its once premier role in protecting us. The date when that happened is certain. […]

We Know Him (Much) Better Than You Do Four current and (very) longtime IAFF members who also come from IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger’s home local, number 2068, managed to be in the same place at the same time for lunch this week. Among the four, they represent 163 years of IAFF and union membership. […]

Many people have a “defining moment” and John McCain’s was when he refused an early repatriation offer while confined as a prisoner during the Vietnam war. He was a prisoner of the North Vietnamese for seven years, enduring torture and deprivation. That refusal, when most would have given in, showed an uncommon commitment to a […]

Mathew Golsteyn, Chief of Operations During my time as an IAFF member, the position now known as “chief of operations” has been populated with low-key civilians or folks with a labor background. IAFF General Secretary-Treasurer Ed Kelly changed all that. He tapped Mathew Golsteyn, a former U.S. Army Major who served with the Special Forces, […]

Too Important to be Bothered The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Janus decision, a bit of a win for anti-union forces, is said to be another marker on the road to making unions irrelevant.  That remains to be seen, but one sure way to weaken labor’s importance is to get to the point where leaders no […]

The Supreme Court and Right to Work The Time’s reports it:  “The Supreme Court dealt a major blow on Wednesday to organized labor. By a 5-to-4 vote, with the more conservative justices in the majority, the court ruled that government workers who choose not to join unions may not be required to help pay for […]

So Much For Political Credibility IAFF Local 2068 President Ron Kuley’s Stanley Cup fire engine joy ride is mostly noted for who was with him and who wasn’t. But the real issue is where the engine was supposed to be that day. Kuley had promised it to Willie Bailey, a member of the Alexandria City […]

Kuley’s Damned If I Do, Damned if I Don’t Moment As if the Fairfax County Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics Association, IAFF Local 2068, didn’t have enough problems already, their newly minted president, Ron Kuley, appropriated a fire truck they apparently own for a joy ride or two during the recent Stanley Cup events. He […]

The Not So Excellent “Center For Excellence” Anyone who has paid even the tiniest amount of attention to Harold Schaitberger’s IAFF will have long since concluded that everything is for sale. He sold out our commitment to safety advocacy by taking advertising money from equipment manufacturers thus creating an automatic conflict of interest. He agrees […]